The present invention relates to a food processing method and apparatus. More particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for processing a rope of aerated confectionery foam, such as a marshmallow product, into small pieces on a mass production basis.
Aerated confections or aerated confectionery foams are popular food items. Some aerated confectionery foams include a fat constituent, while others are substantially fat-free. An illustrative, fat-free aerated confectionery foam is the common marshmallow. Such marshmallow products are familiar in both larger and smaller sizes.
It is well-known that such marshmallows when fresh are soft and pliable, but will stale by losing moisture and become hard. Indeed, purposefully pre-dried aerated confectionery foams are also well-known. These products, particularly in smaller or bit sizes, are popularly commonly added to ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals, especially those marketed to children. Due to their small size (e.g., having a number count of 4-6 per gram), these dried, aerated confectionery marshmallow products are sometimes colloquially referred to as "Mar." bits or "marbits". The marbits must be pre-dried prior to admixture with the RTE cereal in order to reduce unwanted moisture migration from the marbit to the cereal, and thus to forestall the multiple problems resulting therefrom.
While there are many types of aerated confectionery marshmallows on the market, their methods of preparation generally fall into two main process groups: extruded marshmallow and deposited marshmallow. With either type, a sugar syrup and a structuring agent such as an albumin, agar, or preferably a gelatin solution are the two main ingredients. Typically, the sugar syrup is cooled down and then combined with the gelatin solution to form a slurry. The slurry is then aerated to form a foam, and after aeration, desired colors and flavors can then be added to the foam. Alternatively, the colorant can be added prior to aeration. Regardless, a single color can be used to produce a "simple" marbit, or multiple colors in unequal proportions can be employed for a "complex" marbit. The particular marshmallow product may be formed into its final shape by an extrusion process. That is, after aeration, the foam is extruded through die to form a rope. The die imparts the desired peripheral shape (e.g. circle, square, star, irregular shape, etc.) to the extrudate rope. The rope is allowed to rest briefly to stiffen, and then is cut into desired sizes. For dried marshmallows, the process can additionally include one or more drying steps as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,551.
Substantial efforts have been made to optimize mass production of aerated confectionery foam products, as well as to augment the resulting product. For example, U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 09/107,168, filed on Jun. 12, 1998 and entitled "Process For Aerated Confection" describes an improved mass production technique for preparing candies and confections, especially aerated confections such as marshmallows. Additionally, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,404 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/107,170, filed on Jun. 15, 1998 and entitled "Multi-Color Aerated Confectionery Products and Processes for Making" both described techniques for forming multi-colored marshmallow products for "complex" marbits on a mass production basis.
While the above-described efforts have been successful achieving lowcost, mass-produced simple and complex marbits, opportunities for further improvements remain. In particular, current processing techniques virtually universally employ a guillotine-type vertical cutter for cutting the extrudate rope into small pieces. This apparatus is shown schematically, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,404. While the guillotine-type vertical cutter is undoubtedly serviceable, certain inherent limitations are presented. For example, the guillotine-type vertical cutter can simultaneously cut a number of extrudate ropes during a single cutting cycle. However, each cutting cycle requires both lowering and raising of the cutting blade, typically limiting the maximum number of cuts to less than 1,000 cuts per minute. Obviously, the maximum cuts per minute places an absolute limit on the number of pieces a single cutter is able to produce. Additionally, the blade speed of the guillotine-type cutter during a cutting operation is relatively slow, such that the extrudate rope must be allowed to "set" before a cutting operation. As described in the above-referenced documents, the extrudate rope "sets" with cooling. Therefore, the extrudate rope must be allowed to cool for a relatively long period of time (or "residence time") prior to cutting. The relatively lengthy residence time requirement, in turn, necessarily increases overall production time. Finally, for the same reasons, the guillotine-type vertical cutter cannot cut the extrudate rope into pieces smaller than approximately 0.25 inch (6.35 mm) in thickness. Attempts to produce a smaller thickness marbit typically results in the marbit being deformed.
Aerated confectionery foam products, such as marshmallow or marbits, continue to be extremely popular food items. As such, manufacturers will continue to produce large quantities of these products, and therefore highly desire any available cost savings in the mass production thereof. To this end, prior art processing techniques incorporating a guillotine-type vertical cutter present certain inherent processing limitations. Therefore, a need exits for a method and apparatus for processing an aerated confectionery foam rope into small pieces at increased rates.